UK POLITICAL CRISIS: BORIS JOHNSON AND RISHI SUNAL MEET, POSSIBILITY OF A ‘JOINT TICKET’?

Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian descent, has been shortlisted for the contest to succeed Liz Truss as British Prime Minister after reaching the threshold of 100 members of Parliament, according to his supporters on Saturday.

Rivals Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak met in person on Saturday, according to several sources cited by the news agency AFP. The winner will become the new Conservative Party leader and become the new British Prime Minister next week. Rishi Sunak, a former British chancellor of Indian descent, now has the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs, giving him an early edge in the current battle for the party's leadership.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said that Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson had met on Saturday evening, but she was not sure "if any conclusions or news was likely to come out of it tonight".

To prevent a Tory "civil war," the leaders are expected to talk about "agreeing to a joint ticket," according to the Sunday Telegraph. After "a long talk about everything past and present," backbench Conservative MP Lee Anderson uploaded a picture of Johnson on Facebook and said that he was supporting him.

With the support of 128 MPs from all factions of his party, including previous Johnson friends, Rishi Sunak is moving ahead in the contest, as per his allies.

Meanwhile, according to his ally and Conservative MP James Duddridge, former UK PM Boris Johnson has enough backing to run for the position of Britain's next prime minister, according to Reuters.

The BBC's count puts Mr Johnson in the second position with 53 supporters.